1. Field of the Invention
The present embodiment of invention relates to generating and modifying applications, modules and documents. In particular the present invention relates to generating signatures each time a document is transferred between entities and a system for authenticating the signature before delivering the document.
2. Description of the Background Art
The use of portable computing devices has become commonplace for many users. In addition to having a conventional desktop computer, many users also have some type of portable computing device. Examples of present-day portable computing devices include electronic devices for reading such as the Reader from Sony Corp., the Kindle from Amazon, and the Nook from Barnes & Noble. Smaller portable computing devices include a plethora of smart phones including the iPhone from Apple Computer Inc., the Blackberry from Research In Motion and the Pre from Palm just to name a few. There have also been increased sales of notebook laptops and tablet computers offering different levels of processing capability and size.
Users frequently download applications to the portable computing devices for entertainment or business purposes. For example, a process organizer such as a value added reseller creates an application for a doctor to input data into a patient's medical form. The process organizer enlists module developers to perform various activities on the document, such as transcribing audio that is attached to the document or perform handwriting analysis when a doctor handwrites notes onto the document. Once the document is complete, the process organizer uploads the document to a store where an administrator can purchase the document.
One particular problem with this setup is that because the document is transmitted to at least one process organizer and multiple module developers or task performers, there are several opportunities for malfeasance. The process organizer, module developer or task performer could be unauthorized, the document could be intercepted by other parties, etc. This is problematic because a business's ability to thrive is dependent on keeping customer information secure. Thus there is a need to ensure that the document is securely passed between parties.